# Maryland SB 0205: Health Insurance - Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders - Codification of Federal Requirements Maryland SB 0205, Health Insurance - Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders - Codification of Federal Requirements, is a 2026 Regular Session Senate bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2026-04-14 (Approved by the Governor - Chapter 12) (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0205-2026RS - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maryland SB 0205 - State: Maryland - Session: 2026 Regular Session - Title: Health Insurance - Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders - Codification of Federal Requirements - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-09-16 - Last action: 2026-04-14, Approved by the Governor - Chapter 12 - Sponsors: no sponsor on record - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Health - Insurance, Classifications and Designations, Codes -see also- Annotated Code of Md; Building Codes, Data -see also- Census; Demographics, Discrimination, Disparity, Ethics, Evaluations and Reviews, Evidence, Federal Government, Health -see also- COVID19; EnvHlth; MedCon; etc., Health Insurance -see also- ACA; HMOs; MCOs, Health Maintenance Organizations -see also- Manage Care Orgs, Insurance Administration, Medical Conditions -see also- AIDS; COVID-19; rabies, Medical Treatments, Mental and Behavioral Health -see also- Aut; Cogn; Dev; etc., Nonprofit Organizations, Notices, Records -see also- Land Records; Vital Records, Rules and Regulations, Standards and Best Practices, Substance Abuse, Substance Abuse Treatment - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 2 (143 yes, 34 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 4 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Meaningful mental health benefits in every class: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, insurers must prove their mental health and substance use rules are no stricter than medical rules. Their evidence and standards cannot be biased. Plans must provide meaningful benefits for each covered condition in every parity class where medical/surgical benefits exist. I… - Stronger parity checks and faster plan disclosures: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, health plans must list every nonquantitative limit they use in each parity class. They must analyze how each limit affects access and keep the data. Reports must cover at least five limits chosen by the Insurance Commissioner and include audits and in‑operation results. Plan… - Tougher enforcement and claim reprocessing for parity: benefit, medium. Beginning July 1, 2026, if plan data show a limit cuts access, the Commissioner treats it as likely noncompliant. The plan must document steps to fix it within 15 working days after a request. After a written notice of violations, carriers have 90 days to submit a compliance plan and reprocess wron… - Clear definitions for mental health and addiction care: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, Maryland law defines what counts as mental health and substance use disorder benefits. It uses the DSM and the WHO ICD to set covered conditions. It also defines “core treatment” using current medical standards. Plans and regulators use these terms to compare coverage under… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - (none) ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-04-02 | House | Third Reading Passed | pass | 100 | 34 | 1 | | 2026-02-12 | Senate | Third Reading Passed | pass | 43 | 0 | 2 | ## Actions (16) - 2026-04-14: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 12 - 2026-04-03: Returned Passed (Senate) - 2026-04-02: Third Reading Passed (100-34) (House) - 2026-04-01: Favorable Adopted Second Reading Passed (House) - 2026-04-01: Favorable Report by Health (House) - 2026-03-25: Hearing 3/26 at 2:00 p.m. (House) - 2026-03-25: Hearing canceled (House) - 2026-03-17: Hearing 3/26 at 1:00 p.m. (House) - 2026-02-13: Referred Health (House) - 2026-02-12: Third Reading Passed (43-0) (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Second Reading Passed (Senate) - 2026-02-10: Favorable Adopted (Senate) - 2026-02-09: Favorable Report by Finance (Senate) - 2026-01-19: Hearing 1/28 at 2:00 p.m. (Senate) - 2026-01-14: First Reading Finance (Senate) - 2025-09-16: Pre-filed (Senate) ## Bill text - Enacted, 2026-04-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_12_sb0205t.pdf) - Third Reading, 2026-02-10: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0205t.pdf) - First Reading, 2026-01-14: [PDF](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0205f.pdf) ## Related bills - SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - Authorization (became law) - SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishment (became law) - SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law) - SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-1 Specialists Act) (became law) - SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits (became law) - HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program (became law) ## Sources - [Enacted (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/Chapters_noln/CH_12_sb0205t.pdf) - [Third Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0205t.pdf) - [First Reading (PDF)](https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2026RS/bills/sb/sb0205f.pdf) ## Related - [SB 0496: Maryland Medical Assistance Program - Coverage for the Treatment of Obesity - A…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0496-2026RS) - [SB 0366: Motor Vehicles - Intelligent Speed Assistance System Pilot Program - Establishm…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0366-2026RS) - [SB 0244: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0244-2026RS) - [SB 0148: Income Tax - Credit for 9-1-1 Specialist Retirement Income (Supporting Our 9-1-…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0148-2026RS) - [SB 0016: Child Support - Earnings Withholdings Limits](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0016-2026RS) - [HB 0529: Code Revision - Health - Maryland Medical Assistance Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-HB0529-2026RS) - [Maryland bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland/bills) - [Maryland state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maryland) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MD-SB0205-2026RS (as of 2026-10-19).